Lt. Gen. Mike Conley, the commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, announced on Wednesday that the fleet of CV-22B Osprey aircraft is set to resume counter terror operations in the upcoming weeks. This follows a grounding of the crews after a fatal crash in Japan last November that resulted in the loss of eight service members. Over the past few months, the command has thoroughly examined the challenges faced by the Osprey fleet, which has been involved in four fatal crashes in the last two years, claiming the lives of a total of 20 service members.

Conley mentioned that the recent crashes were partially caused by unprecedented parts failures, and the fleet has also been plagued by recurring maintenance issues, leading to a shortage of available aircraft for pilot training. Investigations into the crashes have revealed issues like a crack in a pinion gear within the Osprey’s transmission that may have originated from weaknesses in the manufacturing of the part, resulting in cascading failures in the aircraft’s drive system.

Approximately 60% of the 51 CV-22B aircraft in the command have already been reinstated for full flying status, with the remaining expected to be operational by late 2024 or early 2025. Conley indicated that the overseas wings in Japan and England are close to achieving full mission readiness as well. The deployment of the Osprey aircraft to remote locations will commence in the coming weeks, although the exact destinations were not disclosed. Naval Air Systems Command has imposed flight restrictions on each Osprey, mandating that the aircraft must remain within a 30-minute reach of a landing site in case of emergencies.